I'm stuck with a Valuable Friend
by stanleywalkersbitch
Summary: Alex is weak, but there is a murder to solve. Why is she feeling weak and what will it lead to? As a dramatic case unfolds Alex must overcome her own personal dramas in 1982 but could it be because of 2008? Title could be changed- suggestions welcome!
1. Couple of Twats and One Posh Tart

_Heya. This is my first Ashes to Ashes story so please be kind, I hope I've got the character's right. A huge thank you to XTimeGirlX for being my Beta and just generally inspiring me to continue writing as her stories are so wonderful! Please please review, I would really love to hear your thoughts on my story, good or bad. Thanks! Deborah x_

Alex had been feeling hot all day. She held her head in her hands as she wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead. CID had been relatively quiet the past few days, a couple of things stolen, missing people, the usual. Nothing Alex could really fight to solve, nothing that would unite her and Gene against the world.

The quietness worried Alex, something big had to happen soon. Why else was she here? With little reference to her old life in 2008, it was easy to get caught up in 1980's and the people she found herself with. Some days she got up, went to work, came back to Luigi's with the team, got drunk then went to bed – no thought of life outside the world she was in and no thought of Molly.

She barely heard the opening of Gene's door or the clicking of his cowboy boots across the floor. It wasn't until a familiar "Oi, Bolly!" was shouted that she snapped out of her thoughts.

"Are you going to grace us with your presence or shall I wait until you've finished deciding what knickers to wear tomorrow?"

"Sorry, Guv," Alex took a deep breath, "Carry on."

"Right, I've had a call, apparently a Mrs Suzanne Ellis came home from shopping this afternoon to find her husband dead in their hallway. Three bullets to the chest."

An image of Layton with the gun flashed in front of Alex's eyes.

"Uniform has sealed off the house so we need to get our arses down there and find out what happened. The Super's been on my back about 'how necessary' this department is. We need a good case to shut 'im up and this could be it. Shaz, find out if there's any record of Peter Ellis in our files."

"Yes, Guv" she replied and promptly left the room.

"You three," Gene barked and indicated to Ray, Chris and Alex "with me!"

He swished the end of his coat and stomped out the office. Alex stood up too quickly, her head pounded painfully and the room span. Ray and Chris stopped at the door and turned to Alex.

"You coming, Ma'am?" Chris said with a cigarette in his mouth.

Alex didn't respond, only stood there and rubbed her head. "You alright, Ma'am?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, Chris. I'm fine." Alex snapped herself out of it and lead the boys out of the station, Ray staring at her arse and the way it moved perfectly with every step in her tight jeans. He shook his head in disbelief that his DI was so 'shag-worthy'.

* * *

They pulled up in a small housing estate, parking outside number 32. There was a small open garden at the front of the house; plants neatly decorated, grass freshly cut, a garden chair sitting against the front of the house by the door. Alex noticed these things, and judging by the size of the house came to the conclusion that these people were doing financially alright.

Alex followed Gene into the house and almost bumped into him when he stopped abruptly. The body of Peter Ellis lay a few feet from the front door. He was wearing a suit and tie, clean shaven, dark hair, with three bullet wounds in the chest, blood had seeped through his pale blue shirt partially turning it crimson.

"Looks like he was shot from his front door. Poor bastard." Muttered Gene, "What do you think Bollykecks?"

"Don't think so Guv. The body's not close enough to the front door to have been shot from there-"

"Bullets can go a lot further than a couple of feet ya know." Gene interrupted, "Or did they not teach you that in psychiatry school?"

"What I meant, was that if he was shot as soon as he opened the door his body would be next to it. He must have opened the door to let this person into the house, entered the hallway, then was killed."

"So you think Mr Ellis knew his killer?" interrupted Chris, who along with Ray, was standing under the door frame annoyingly close to herself and her DCI.

"Yes I think he did." Alex's eyes scanned the body again, her focus landing on the bullet wounds in the chest. She saw another image flash before her, of Layton's bullet hurtling through the air. She suddenly came over all hot, her body sweating. As she took a few deep breaths she held the door frame for support.

"You alright Drakey?" asked the Guv in his gruff voice

"Yes. Yes. I'm fine." Alex stated quickly as she looked up. "Will people stop asking me that?! Where's Mrs Ellis?"

"She's in the kitchen with one of the plods."

Alex carefully stepped around the body to enter the kitchen ahead. As she left, Ray muttered "Feels like every day is time of the month for her."

"Raymondo. Show some respect for your superior officer!" barked Gene.

* * *

Alex signalled for the uniformed officer to leave as she entered the room. Mrs Ellis sat perched on a contemporary looking but probably most uncomfortable bar stool, which couldn't be easy for a heavily pregnant woman.

"Mrs Ellis, I'm DI Alex Drake. I understand you were the one who found your husband's body. I know it's distressing, but could you please tell me what happened?"

"Well I'd just gone out shopping, getting things for the baby, y'know." She rubbed her hand soothingly over her enlarged stomach. Mrs Ellis was a beautiful woman but covered it up with too much make-up Alex thought. She had blonde hair with soft curls which was brushed out in a typically 80's style, along with her bright eye-shadow and strongly rouged cheekbones. Although heavily pregnant, she still seemed up to date with the 'latest' fashion. She held tightly in her hand a white embroidered handkerchief. "I'd only gone into town, out of the house for nearly two hours. When I came home, I um..." Mrs Ellis wiped her eyes. "I opened the door... and just saw him lying there. Blood everywhere....and he was cold. I rang the police immediately." She began to sob a little harder. "What if I had been home? What if they killed me and my baby?" Her crying became more hysterical.

Alex stepped over to Mrs Ellis and stroked her arm comfortingly. "You're safe. We'll make sure of that." Mrs Ellis nodded to show her understanding. "Did you see anything unusual before you left? Anyone lurking around the estate?" Mrs Ellis simply shook her head. "And your husband didn't have any enemies of any sort?"

"No."

Alex made her way out of the kitchen. "I'm sorry for your loss." She added as she left the room.

"Anything from the wife?" grumbled Gene through a cigarette that was wedged between his lips as Alex returned to the hallway "Or just the simple 'open door, dead body on floor'?"

"Hey, that rhymes." Giggled Chris

"Shut up!" barked Gene, he then raised his eyebrows at Alex as means of repeating his question.

"Pretty much, Guv, she was out shopping, came home and found her husband on the floor." Alex held onto the wall as another hot dizzy feeling swept over her when she saw another glimpse of Peter Ellis on the floor. Gene wanted to ask if she was alright – she looked like hell, but thought better of it.

"Did Mr Ellis have any enemies or anything like that?" asked Chris while Ray flicked through a woman's lingerie catalogue, piping up with the occasional "Cor!"

"No. Mrs Ellis couldn't think of anyone," replied Alex, taking deep long breaths "nor did she see anyone dodgy looking hanging about before she left."

"Right you couple of twats, and one posh tart, let's get back to the station and see if Shaz has found anything about our mysterious Mr Ellis. Plus, looks like Bollyknickers should be in bed."

"Was that an offer?" asked Alex after Ray and Chris headed out towards the car

"And what if it was?"

Alex blushed and looked away from Gene, catching sight again of the bullet wounds in Mr Ellis' chest. A quizzical and concerned look appeared on Gene's face as Alex began to sway a little, "Bolls?"

She felt hot again. As she stared at the bullet wounds she saw Layton's gun this time as well as the bullet that was flying towards her. Her temperature was rising, she couldn't breathe. Her vision blurred while her head span.

As her eyes rolled, Gene rushed over to her instinctively, perfect timing as her knees gave way and she collapsed in his arms.

* * *

Alex blinked a few times; Gene's face above hers began to focus. Their faces were inches apart, eyes locked as they scanned inquisitively, the heat from their breathing burning each other's skin.

Gene's arms wrapped tight around Alex's waist supporting her as her legs were unable; he freed a hand and placed it on her forehead.

"You're burning up, Bolly." His gruff voice whispered

The introduction of speech seemed to awaken Alex from her trance, her eyes torn away from his as she found her feet again. As she stood up, Gene removed his arm from her waist, but he did not return it to his side. He left it hovering around her as if an invisible barrier was keeping them from touching; his arm ready to catch her again should the barrier fall.

Alex stared at her feet avoiding Gene's eyes, she was embarrassed to have needed him to catch her and even more so because she liked it.

"You should go home, Alex."

The use of her name slightly shocked her; he wasn't saying it as her boss but as a concerned friend.

"I'm fine, honestly, Gene." She tried to state reassuringly. She left the house and joined Ray and Chris who were waiting by the Quattro, unaware of what just happened.


	2. You Couldn't Even Carry A Feather

_Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. You have all been really encouraging. I've been watching series 2 and getting excited about series 3, I hope you all are too! Enjoy the next chapter. Thanks again to XTimeGirlX who is lovely and has beta'd this chapter. Please please review, I'd love to hear your thoughts and theories, and give me any ideas you think of! xxx_

Alex perched on her desk almost as soon as they entered CID. Although they had just been sitting in the Quattro, the long walk down the grey darkened corridor seemed to have weakened her. Shaz walked straight up to Gene and Alex, while Ray and Chris took seats at their desks and lit up cigarettes.

"Right, Peter Ellis. Nothing really interesting, Guv, I'm afraid. Works for a sales company and has done for many years; very successful actually. No criminal record, not even a parking ticket."

"He can't be that squeaky clean – no man is that boring." The Guv said putting his hands in his pockets and rocking on his cowboy boots. "Anything else?"

"Well Peter and Suzanne got married when they were really young, she was 18 and he was 19. But if you ask me I don't think their marriage was going well, he's a bit of a work-a-holic, stays at the office very late."

"Well I don't ask you. Thanks for the info love, now a cup of tea – five sugars." Retorted Gene before striding past Shaz and into his office. Shaz looked a bit hurt but walked off to the kitchen anyway.

Alex saw Gene in his office lifting his feet onto the table, lighting up a cigarette and leaning back as he so often did when he was thinking. Having gained some strength she followed Shaz into the kitchen to help with the teas.

"So you don't reckon Peter Ellis was very happy with his life at home?" Alex asked tentatively whilst passing the milk.

"I don't know, Ma'am. It's just a feeling I got from the guy on the phone who works where Peter did. I might be completely wrong." Shaz seemed a bit knocked down by Gene's remark.

"No I'm glad you told me, Shaz, this sort of information helps to tell us what sort of person he was, so we can narrow down why he was killed, it's called profiling and it is very important, no matter what the Guv thinks. And don't worry about him; he's just a bit touchy 'cos the Super's on his back." Shaz smiled as Alex left the room with Gene's cuppa.

Alex knocked on the Manc Lion's door and waited for his nod before entering. She placed the coffee in front of him on the desk before sitting at her usual spot beside his computer. Alex didn't know how to start so just jumped in. "I think we should go back to the Ellis's house and have a proper look around."

"And why is that Bollykecks?" Gene grumbled whilst taking a drag, "Did plod not do a good enough job for you earlier?"

"No it's not that, it's just I want to try and find out what sort of man Peter Ellis was and the 'plods' weren't looking for things like that."

"Psychiatry."

"Psychology!"

"I'm surprised you noticed what the plods were looking for, you were too busy fainting on me. And by the way Bolls, you're still not looking too great."

"Oh thanks for the compliment. Look I'm fine, will people just leave me be?!"

Gene took a sip of his cup of tea.

"Can we please go back, just to have a little look?" Gene looked at Alex as she made her best puppy-dog eyes. "Please?"

He put out his cigarette. "Fine."

* * *

Alex and Gene were in Peter and Suzanne's bedroom. Alex was looking through the wardrobe whilst Gene had found Mrs Ellis's underwear draw.

"So what exactly are we looking for 'ere, Lady Bolls?" Gene questioned as he lifted up a pair of lacy knickers.

"Anything that could tell us about Peter Ellis and his life at home." Replied Alex as she flicked through shirts and empty hangers. "And you could be a bit nicer to Shaz. She was only trying to help. She does a lot more than just make the tea y'know."

"Is that was this is about?" Gene grumbled "Shaz mentions Mr Ellis's home life and now I'm stuck going through knickers? Not that I'm complaining." Gene pulled a skimpy thong from the draw. "Trying to help your fellow woman in the Met are we?"

Alex was bent over looking through a low shelf in the closet. Watching her rear end Gene pictured Alex in the underwear he was holding. A sly grin crept across his face. She quickly turned around, feeling his eyes on her. She caught the grin on his face.

"Stop whatever it is you are thinking. And no we're not here just on what Shaz said, although she raised a good point and you refused to entertain the idea."

"So what? Peter and Suzanne got married young and probably regret it now. Plenty of people have done that, including me, doesn't mean it's relevant to a murder enquiry!"

"Everything is significant, Guv." Alex had a look of knowledge on her face and Gene hated it, like he had missed part of a joke. "There aren't many clothes for Peter in here. You'd think being so successful he'd have more than three shirts – and awful ones at that." Alex said picking out the middle shirt.

"Hey! I have that in grey!" grumbled Gene.

Alex shut the wardrobe door with a giggle then got on her knees to look under the bed. She stuck her bum in the air as she looked beneath the bed giving Gene a perfect view. He slammed Suzanne's underwear draw shut in an attempt to shut the thoughts of Alex in sexy lingerie from his mind. Alex lifted her head up and dragged a suitcase out from under the bed.

Gene watched as Alex unzipped the suitcase. Inside neatly packed was a variety of men's clothing; suits and shirts and posh ones at that. Lying on the very top was an ultrasound photo in a frame, a passport and plane tickets. Alex looked puzzled; however Gene took no notice of the top three items and simply lit a cigarette.

"We're taking these down to CID as evidence." Alex said as she zipped up the case again. She stood up too fast and immediately felt dizzy as she bent to try and pick up the case. She grabbed her head and took deep breaths. Again, Gene wanted to ask if she was alright but knew he'd get his head bitten off.

"Bolls, you couldn't even carry a feather." Gene said through a cigarette that was wiggling between his lips, and he picked up the case and left the room, with his Bolly hot on his tail.

* * *

Back at CID Alex had spread out through the office going through every inch of that suitcase, with Ray and Chris either side of her as she tried to teach them about how personal possessions help with profiling. So far they had come to the conclusion that Peter Ellis loved his unborn baby very much as they had also found baby-grows and a baby book along with the framed ultrasound photo. Sitting in evidence bags around them were shirts, ties, pants, aftershave, a new unworn set of ladies underwear, Peter Ellis's passport, and two tickets to Dublin – one for him and one for an 'Emily Richards'....


	3. His Breath On My Neck

**Sorry for the insane amount of time between updates. Anyway, my mojo for this and A2A is back big time, so watch this space! I hope you enjoy. This is just a little something to get me back into the story but also to tease you lovely readers! Remember to review! I love to hear ALL thoughts! Thanks! **

I watch him most days, sitting alone in his glass box drinking whisky. I never let him catch me looking though, I don't know what I'd do if he did. I don't know why I do it, but somehow my day isn't complete without those small seconds of staring, where I can get dragged into his world, his life, just wishing he'd let me in.

Those small seconds can feel like a lifetime yet they also feel a microsecond. But even in that microsecond I have enough time to absorb every inch of that man. The pout he has when he is confused or thinking, he way he leans back in his chair to light a cigarette. His face contorting in pain and satisfaction after downing a drink – as the liquid burns down his throat but he enjoys the sensation, like its proof of his masculine strength. The way he straightens his tie when he thinks no-one is looking; because God forbid anyone found out that The Manc Lion cared about his appearance.

Yes, I think I have every part of DCI Gene Hunt tattooed in my brain. But it's not enough, just watching him through the glass. I need him. Sometimes I think my body actually aches for his touch, our flesh to collide, his breath on my neck. He's the only thing that makes this world bearable, that gets me up in the morning and stops me wallowing in bed waiting to go home.

Do I tell him? Would he even care? All I know is I can't go on watching him much longer, separated by glass. I want him. And you know what – on some level, I think he wants me too.


	4. Please Rescue Me, Kind Sir

**Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed my story! I'm so happy you are enjoying it! Special thanks to XTimeGirlX who has once again Beta'd this chapter for me! Please continue to review! I'd love to hear where you think the plot is going ;) Thanks! xxx**

Chapter Four:

The interview room was cold and icy, which suited Alex perfectly as her body was still burning up, especially her head and its throbbing made the heat even worse. Gene was sitting in his usual spot to the right of Alex, blowing cigarette smoke everywhere. She'd told him not to smoke as they were interviewing Mrs Ellis, a heavily pregnant woman, but in typical 80's fashion, Mrs Ellis herself sparked up too. Alex watched the woman in front of her rub her stomach, soothing the baby inside her; she was reminded of Molly and what it was like to be pregnant, to be a mother, and how she'd forgotten how desperate she was to get out of this world to be with her again. She began to absentmindedly fiddle with the bow on the front of her satin blouse.

"Drake!" Alex snapped out of her day dream and turned to face the Guv. "Are you going to start or shall I?" Gene motioned to Mrs Ellis sitting opposite them who was looking from Gene to Alex, her watery eyes holding an unmistakable fear.

"Right, yeah, sorry." Alex focused on why they were there and showed Mrs Ellis the plane tickets they found in the suitcase "Do you know an Emily Richards, Mrs Ellis? As these plane tickets to Dublin were found in your husband's suitcase, which we found at your home under the bed."

Mrs Ellis was still rubbing her enlarged stomach and shook her head. "No, I don't know her. Maybe she was a work colleague of Pete's." She silently sobbed after saying her husband's name.

"Right, well that clears that up." Gene said, getting up and motioning that the interview was finished. Alex glared at him from her seat and turned back to face Mrs Ellis. Alex was still playing with the bow on her blouse; she was shaking it so her top would get some circulation inside that would cool her down. As Gene was still standing he had the perfect view down her top as she shook it. He knew she was ill, she'd been looking rough all day, and now he could see the beads of sweat rolling down her neck and disappearing between her heaving breasts. He had to sit down. That woman drove him insane but now was not the best time to analyse her health or her body.

"Mrs Ellis," Alex began, "do you know why there was a suitcase filled with most of your husband's clothes and belongings under the bed?" Alex wasn't being her usual patient self; there was something not quite right about the look in Mrs Ellis's eyes. On the surface she looked like a grieving widow, but her eyes did not reflect it at all. Besides, Alex thought, the sooner we're done here, the sooner I can go home and have a nice cold glass of wine.

"It was a business trip. Pete was always going away somewhere. That's why I said I thought that woman was a work colleague."

"Must have been difficult for you," Alex stated, which prompted a quizzical look from Mrs Ellis. "Your husband away, leaving you alone in the house, pregnant."

"Yes, I suppose it was. But I loved him and I knew he would always come back to me." Mrs Ellis began to sob again, slightly louder this time.

"How would you describe your marriage, Mrs Ellis?"

"What?" The flicker of a frown crossed her face.

"Your marriage - how would you describe it? Happy? Difficult? Loud? Perfect?"

"No marriage is perfect." Mrs Ellis stated, quite coldly compared to the emotional sobs she'd been doing a second previously.

"But what about _your_ marriage, Suzanne?" Alex leaned in closer so she couldn't avoid the question.

"I...err...we...we certainly had our fair share of arguments." Mrs Ellis looked uncomfortable; she rubbed her stomach faster and slightly rocked in her chair. "But I loved him, so much."

"Were you happy?"

"Happy?" Mrs Ellis looked down to her bump.

"Were you and Pete happy together?" Alex got frustrated, why did she have to dart around every single question?

There was a pause as Alex and Gene waited for a response; Alex was getting more fed up with every second because the pounding in her head was getting harder and harder.

"Ow!" cried out Mrs Ellis, her hand no longer rubbing her stomach but grabbing one side of it.

"Mrs Ellis?" Gene said, who had so far taken a back seat in the interview. "Mrs Ellis, are you alrigh'?"

Alex scoffed, not loud enough for Mrs Ellis to hear but Gene certainly did.

"I'm not feeling too good." Mrs Ellis whispered, still staring down at her bump. "Can I go home?"

"Yeah sure, love." Gene said, standing up and going over to help Mrs Ellis get out of her chair. Alex stayed put and rolled her eyes – no-one noticed.

"You sure you're alrigh'?" Gene grumbled as he took her hands and pulled her out of the chair.

"Yes, I'll be fine thank you. It was just a little twinge-oh!" she grabbed Gene's arm and he held her waist as her knees weakened a little in pain.

"You don't look alrigh', love. We can take ya to the hospital."

Mrs Ellis looked up into Gene's eyes and smiled appreciatively. "Thank you, Mr Hunt, but I'll be fine. It's just the baby getting ready, that's all." She turned away from Gene and picked up her bag from the table.

"I'll walk ya out, Mrs Ellis." Gene leaned in towards Alex "When I get back DI Drake – a word."

Gene and Mrs Ellis left the interview, Alex's head dropped onto the table in frustration. Was Gene so blind he couldn't tell that Mrs Ellis was faking it? The moment she asked a question she couldn't or did not want to answer, she was suddenly all in pain from the baby. And the way he jumped out of his seat to help her! Argh! That man was so irritating.

* * *

The table was nice and cold on Alex's forehead but she knew she'd have to get up at some point. If the Guv saw she still hadn't moved there would be hell to pay. She lifted her head up and immediately the throbbing came back. She hadn't quite realised how hot she felt, Gene took up so much of her thinking she hadn't thought she might actually be quite ill.

Alex stood up, took a few moments to adjust to standing, and then went back to CID. Gene was already in his office, door shut but the blinds were up. He watched her walk in and before she had a chance to sit down, he had already opened his door and cleared his throat as a sign for her to enter.

As Alex waltzed over to Gene's door, CID fell silent. Everyone appeared to be absorbed into whatever they were doing but every ear was going to be listening to this one. Alex stepped into the office and Gene shut the door behind her and pulled down the blind.

"You _can't_ seriously be falling for that stunt, Guv?" Alex blurted out in her usual patronising way.

"What stunt? You're the one who was askin' personal questions to a pregnant widow. No wonder she 'ad to go home, it was like the bleeding Spanish Inquisition in there!" Gene raised his voice slightly to regain his authority that his DI had a tendency of forgetting.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me! That wasn't grief she was showing in there – it was guilt!" Alex threw her arms about wildly as she usually did when the Guv wouldn't listen. "She's hiding something, Guv, and if you didn't fall for her 'oh I'm in pain from the baby, please rescue me, kind sir' routine," Alex put the back of her hand against her forehead, mimicking a damsel in distress, "then we might have found out what it is!"

"What is up with you today, eh Bolls? First you go fainting on me now you're wound up tighter than a baboon's backside."

"I am_ not_ wound up!" Alex proclaimed, rubbing her temple as the pounding and the heat got worse. "I just don't understand how you could fall for it – I mean it was _so_ obvious! You know what, Gene," Alex took a step closer to him. "Not all women are damsels in distress and need rescuing from the likes of you. Some are cold, hard and calculated, and trust me; Mrs Ellis is one of them."

"I know women are cold and calculated – I've worked with you long enough to realise that!" Alex gritted her teeth and glared at him "Next time you get your bony arse in a mess because you're too _stubborn _to ask for help, I'll remember that you're not a woman who needs rescuing!"

Alex gave him the dirtiest of looks, grabbed the handle to the office door and stormed out, slamming it loudly behind. She stomped across the office, grabbed her white leather jacket and left. "Men!" she scoffed under her breath

Gene walked around behind his desk, kicked the bin across the room and downed the whisky that was sitting in a glass in front of him. "Bloody women."


	5. 10 Minutes Earlier

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed my story and ticked those lovely boxes for alerts! I really am so happy people are enjoying what I write! I'm really excited about this chapter, it's the longest one yet and I'm really proud of it's content. I hope you all like it. Please let me know what you think, especially your theories! :) **

**A special thank you to XTimeGirlX who is amazing and lovely and once again Beta'd this chapter for me! **

**Also, (shameless promoting here) but I've made another A2A music video. ****Just type in 'Flashback Ashes to Ashes' into youtube. ****I hope you enjoy that as well. **

**-x-**

Chapter Five:

Alex was striding down the corridor in a mood and heading out of the station. Why could Gene annoy her so easily? Did she have a button in her head that only he could hit to get her this pissed off? How could one man in a world inside her own head get under her skin so badly? He infuriated her, he confused her, and she hated him. Well, sometimes. A smirk crept its way onto her lips, 'Oh that man.' She thought to herself. 'Always that man.'

Her heels echoed down the corridor as she managed to regain her stern look and send the smile back to wherever it came from. She passed Claire on the front desk as she left the station. WPC Claire Brown worked on the desk from time to time along with Viv. Alex was glad of another woman in the Met trying desperately to work her way through the ranks. She didn't have Shaz's spark or gut instincts for the force though.

Anyway, Alex didn't have time to dwell on anything other than getting as far away from Gene Hunt as she could. It was nearing the end of the day so she figured she'd go to Luigi's for a quick dinner and be back upstairs in her flat before the rest of CID turned up, and before Gene could annoy her once more.

-x-

Why did she have to be so argumentative? Why couldn't she just shut her lipstick and get on with a simple investigation? She always had to over-complicate things, bloody Bolly. No woman had ever got him so irritated, well not since the ex-Mrs Hunt, and that was something he didn't particularly want to relive. However, his arguments with Alex were different, yes they were fumed and they often stood nose to nose shouting at each other, but there was no real hate, no venom. There was definitely something different between him and Alex; but what?

Gene downed yet another glass of whisky and banged open the door of his office. He couldn't stay in here for the next couple of hours getting wound up with thoughts of that woman. There was still work to be done, and he was going to prove his stroppy D.I that he was right about this case. Nothing could trump his trustworthy copper's instinct.

Ray was lying back in his chair twiddling his moustache, while Chris seemed to be stacking every pen in CID into some odd pyramid shape, a look of determined concentration etched on his face. Shaz was the only one actually doing any work. 'Maybe Drake was right about her and her future in the Met.' Gene thought to himself. 'Damn that woman! Can't I go five bloody minutes without her creeping into my mind?' He snatched the mirror Ray was looking into and chucked it across the room at Chris and his pathetic pyramid. The mirror crashed into the pens, sending them flying. They skidded along the table and subsequently smashed on the floor.

"That's 7 years bad luck," Chris said, silently annoyed about his fallen work of art.

"Do I look like the sort of man that relies on luck Christopher?" barked The Guv, making it obvious that he was not in a good mood.

"What do you want us to do, Guv?" Ray asked.

"Well, apart from practicing your routine for the next pillock convention, we 'ave a murder to solve! Right, Mrs Ellis doesn't know who Emily Richards is or about the tickets; said it was probably a business trip and she was probably a colleague. Ray, go check that out." Ray nodded, stood up and left. "And Wonder-Chris, go talk with the Ellis's neighbours, find out what you can about our mystery man."

"Trying out a bit of D.I Drake's psychology, Guv?" Chris smirked.

Gene pouted, anger sparking in his eyes. "Drake's namby-pamby psycho-what's-it is _not_ what I do and not how I became your Guv, Skelton. But doing this will help find out more about Mr Ellis and if he 'ad anyone who wanted revenge or summat."

"I think Ma'am calls it 'profiling', Guv." Chris commented.

"Get out!" Gene jerked his head towards the door. Chris stood up and put his coat on. "Can Shaz come too?"

"Whatever. Just go!" Gene turned towards his office and shut himself in.

"Fab." Shaz smiled as she left with Chris.

Gene downed another whisky and lit a cigarette. Why was he still so stressed over Alex? He took a long drag on his fag, 'God that woman will be the death of me.'

-x-

Alex sat by a table near the bar with one of Luigi's lasagnes sitting in front of her and a soothing glass of ice-cold white wine. The heat from her lasagne was reminding Alex that she wasn't feeling very well today so she continued drinking her wine and waited for her dinner to cool a little. She turned her head and gazed towards the table in the corner of the restaurant that was usually habited by herself and The Guv.

He really was an eighties man through and through. No matter what he said, he loved rescuing people - being the hero. He loved the old fashioned methods of policing – separating scum from good people and God help you if you fell into the first category. But Alex knew his time would be up, that his song would end. With all the changes that she knew would be hitting the Met, she also knew that Gene couldn't be part of it. He was a traditional copper stuck in his ways; ways that wound her up, pissed her off and would have sickened her 2008 self, yet these were the traits she'd come to find attractive.

Alex couldn't imagine this world without Gene Hunt and hated the idea of the new policing forcing him out. The whole world was in her head, but she did care for her constructs. She did want this world to continue once she got home.

She ate a spoonful of lasagne and instantly knew that it wasn't hunger making her feel nauseous. She pushed the plate of food away from her and ordered another glass of wine as she seemed to be doing well drinking that. She picked up the new glass of wine and began pressing it against her forehead, letting the condensation on the glass cool her burning head and drip down her cheek.

-x-

Ray, Chris and Shaz arrived simultaneously back at the station and walked through the corridors together towards CID.

"So what do you thinks' up with The Guv and Ma'am?" enquired Shaz with a look on her face, desperate for other women to gossip with. Claire was her only fellow ranking officer but wasn't really a one for chatting, and she obviously couldn't talk to DI Drake about this.

"What do ya mean? They 'ad another fight, so what?" Chris replied.

"Yeah, Guv will be in a right mood later and Drake'll 'ave her knickers in a twist and storm up to her flat. Nothing new Shaz." Ray mumbled.

"Yes, but why do they argue so much and so heatedly?" She looked at the boys, still hoping that they would catch on to the point she was trying to make. "They _like_ each other."

"The Guv and DI Drake? Nah." Chris shook his head.

"Yeah he might wanna shag her brains out but that's a bit too poufy for the Guv," commented Ray, "Maybe 'cos you don't know him like we do."

"I know chemistry when I see it," Shaz quickly glanced at Chris with loving eyes, "And trust me, the Guv and Ma'am definitely have something more than-"

Shaz stopped talking when she reached CID and saw the Guv through his open office door – obviously waiting for news from his team. She hurried back to her desk and kept her head down, hiding the smile on her face.

"It's nearly beer o'clock lads," Gene marched out of his office, his cowboy boots vibrating through CID, "What have ya got for me?"

"Mrs Ellis was right about Emily Richards; she worked with Peter at the sales company. But I checked the records for all business trips abroad – there was nothing scheduled for Dublin or for Peter Ellis, nor Emily Richards."

"Right, so we're back where we bloody started," grumbled Gene as he turned to Chris for his information.

"Nothing much from the neighbours Guv. A couple of them confirmed that Mrs Ellis went out shopping that day. Everyone had lovely things to say about him, Peter Ellis, really sorry he's dead. One neighbour did bring up how often arguing could be heard from that house, that it was clear Peter and Suzanne weren't happy together. They heard arguing the day he was murdered but that wasn't unusual."

"Thanks, Chris. Dunno where that leaves us now, but time for a pizza and a pint." The Guv grabbed his coat and walked out of CID. Ray and Chris, glad they hadn't got a bollocking for not having any new information, followed him out. Shaz was hot on their tail.

-x-

Alex rested her head in her hand whilst her elbow was propped on the table. She was definitely feeling the effects of three glasses of wine with no dinner. She was playing with one of her earrings that had fallen out – she'd lost the butterfly at the back. She was twiddling it mindlessly when she heard the car. The roar of that engine could send shivers down her spine as she knew who would subsequently be arriving in the restaurant. But not today. Those engines reminded Alex of the argument earlier and how the thought of seeing Gene's face made her blood boil, making her head hammer even harder against her skull. She quickly took a large gulp of wine – only half emptying it, then disappeared upstairs, narrowly missing CID's entrance into Luigi's.

Gene immediately looked to the corner table and although he did _not_ want another argument, he was slightly disappointed that she wasn't here already. As the rest of the team took their usual seats at the back of the restaurant, Gene walked towards the bar. He didn't know if it was his imagination but he could have sworn he could smell Alex, her familiar perfume seemed to linger in the air. He stood at the bar but then turned around and noticed the little table he had just walked around. There was a half-empty glass of wine with lipstick marks on the rim and one single earring lay next to it.

He knew Alex had been here and knew she must have left just as they arrived. 'Fine' he thought to himself, 'Be Miss Sulky-Knickers.' Gene turned back to the bar.

"Gimme a pint, Luigi."

-x-

**10 minutes earlier...**

God Gene Hunt was annoying. Why couldn't he see what was right in front of his face? I still watch him through those glass barriers that create his office, separating him from me. I never got the courage to tell him how I feel – I'm scared it would ruin everything. But he doesn't even notice me when he walks past my desk. My heart sinks every time he's near me and doesn't even look in my direction; I feel like I die a little inside. Perhaps I was wrong about him needing me as much as I need him. I wish he would look at me the way her looks at _her_, the way he hides a smile every time _she_ walks into the room, the way he stares at _her_ arse when she's not looking. If _she_ hadn't come into this world, then maybe Gene would be giving those looks to me, be thinking about me instead of _her_.

Yes, _she_ was the problem; _she_ was the reason I hadn't got together with Gene. With _her_ out of the equation he would surely see what was right in front of him – me.

My feet don't make a sound as I walk up the stairs; I have to be quick, I don't know how much time I have. Once I get to the top I quickly check down the stairs to see if anyone's coming. I pick the lock and let myself in, silently shutting the door behind me.

I immediately notice the bottle of vodka and an empty glass on the kitchen worktop, and then I find my way to the bedroom. I begin searching draws and cupboards for anything that I could use, anything that she wouldn't want anyone to see. I look in the wardrobe; why were there shirts in here? They're Gene's! He wouldn't have spent the night here; he wouldn't have betrayed me like that. Never. But how did they get here? God this woman was a whore, I look through her slutty clothes. She was no good for him, no good at all. _She had to go!_

It was at that moment that I heard the flat door open and shut as she stumbled inside. I run to the bedroom door and pushed it ajar, looking through the gap silently. There _she_ was – the reason Gene and I aren't together.

_Alex Drake._


	6. Death Did Seem An Option

**Hey everyone. Just to let you know that XTimeGirlX hasn't Beta'd this for me (she's on holiday) but I was too excited to post it to wait for her return! :P I hope it is alright and that you enjoy! Please let me know what you think, and any ideas for the future of this story is welcome! Thanks! x**

**Chapter Six:**

Alex threw open the door to her flat and stumbled inside, quickly holding onto the wall for support. In her hurry to leave Luigi's the wine had definitely made an impact – she was pissed. She grabbed her head as the door slammed shut loudly behind her making her jump and the pounding against her skull worsen. She staggered as gracefully as possible towards the kitchen, she saw the vodka bottle that innocently stood on the kitchen worktop and felt her stomach contract. Her hand immediately covered her mouth, afraid that the nauseous feeling would bring her wine back up.

Slowly, she took a few deep breaths, grabbed a pint glass from the cupboard filling it with water and began to drink its entire contents. She may be stuck in a world in her own head but she knew from experience that her hangover tomorrow would feel as real as anything, and the more water she consumed now the less of a headache she'd have when she woke up. She was about two-thirds through her pint of water when a sudden blast of searing pain in the back of her head took over her senses. The water slipped from her grip as her body jerked in shock then everything went dark before Alex could hear the glass smash against her kitchen floor.

-x-

He could hear the shouts and laughter of his teams as they drank most of the alcohol Luigi had available, they seemed to be having a great night, yet something was missing and he couldn't shake his bad mood. Despite the fact that he was sitting amongst the rest of the team his mind was elsewhere, not that anyone in CID noticed. He wouldn't usually sit with them; they all knew it was due to the absence of DI Drake.

It felt odd not having Alex next to him, slurring her words across her glass of wine and desperately avoiding spilling its contents. It sounded so girlie but he'd gotten used to her being by his side, looking at him with her green and hazel eyes and pouting those dark red lips. When she wasn't his sidekick it felt like he'd lost a limb or something. Not that he would ever admit that to another human being – especially not the woman in question.

Gene had picked up Alex's earring and begun to fiddle with it in the exact same manner she had done earlier, not that he knew that. His brain had completely switched off from his current surroundings and began to try and pin point the time that Alex Drake had wormed her way into his life, and whether he minded the company of someone as stubborn, strong-minded and downright annoying as himself, who continually challenged everything he did but also looked pretty good in a tight pair of jeans.

-x-

Pain. Blistering pain.

She wondered whether she was bleeding; bleeding was good as it meant she wasn't dead, and the amount of pain that was coursing through her skull death did seem an option. She tried to feel the back of her head but soon discovered that her hands were tied together behind her back. She had no idea what happened, the last thing she remembered was stumbling into her flat to avoid Gene. Gene. Her weak body seemed to gain an extra burst of life at the thought of her Guv. She tried to open her eyes to see where she was but she couldn't – they were covered up; from the texture against her skin and the smell of the fabric she would have guess it was one of her own scarves that was obstructing her vision. She struggled to free her hands and it was at this point she realised she was sitting as her arms collided with the back of a chair. She was completely tied up – even her feet wouldn't move. The more she came around from her unconscious state the more claustrophobic she felt, with no vision or movement allowed. Hopelessly she struggled against her bindings.

"Don't bother." spoke a cold voice "You're not going anywhere."

Alex took a sharp intake of breath, scared. Whoever had done this to her was still there, watching her. Alex was so confused; her head hurt too much to think – the throbbing at the back of her head adding to the existing headache she'd already been suffering from. Plus she was drunk.

"Wha...Wh...Who are you?" croaked Alex, her voice was hoarse. There was no reply but she could hear movement. "I can help." Alex called out to thin air. "Whatever trouble you're in, I can help. But keeping a police officer hostage, a Detective Inspector, isn't going to help you achieve what you want."

There was silence.

"Talk to me. _What do you want from me_?"

"YOU?" the voice spat. "I don't want anything _from you_!"

"Then... Then why am I here?" Alex voice was shaky. "Listen I can help." Alex tried to plead with her captor without sounding desperate, yet still ensuring the voice knew they were in control.

"Not everything is about _you_!" the voice was icy and full of rage and hatred. "Alex Drake."

Alex was slapped across the face as the voice said her name, the noise of her flesh being hit echoed through the room. Alex's eyes welled up with tears behind her scarf, but she would never let them fall, never show weakness. Her face now hurt, probably bruised, along with the throbbing of her head and an awfully sick feeling in her stomach.

Why did this happen? How is this significant to me getting home? If this world isn't real why does it hurt so much? Why is the pain so strong? Alex tried to focus on something instead of her pain. This couldn't be how it all ended in this world – this wasn't the way she would get back to Molly. She had to get out of here safely so she could continue whatever task that would enable her to leave this place.

She focused on the here and now. This hostage situation seemed unusual, not planned out well at all. Why was she tied up with her own furniture and belongings? And with no-one knowing she was stuck up here, what was the voice hoping to achieve? Did the voice want to kill her?

The voice, although cold and full of anger and hate, seemed to ring a bell somewhere in Alex's head, somewhere deep in her memories. She decided to stay quiet, convinced her captor needed to explain why they were keeping a DI hostage. She didn't have to wait long for the silence to be broken.

-x-

Why did she have to be Miss Sulky-Knickers and stay upstairs? Well fine, Drakey! I'm not going up there just cos you're in a mood and I was right! Although, the look on her face would be funny – Gene could never resist a chance to wind her up.

But no. This argument was different – more real and less flirting. No. Gene thought stubbornly. No if Alex wanted to stay up there alone – fine! Gene Hunt did not apologise nor did he grovel, and he most certainly didn't make the first move after an argument. Plus he was right.

Gene took a couple of large gulps of bitter and almost slammed the pint glass back down on the table.

"Guv?" spoke a voice that Gene wasn't paying any attention to.

"Eh?" grumbled Gene trying to focus back on his team instead of his thoughts of Bolly upstairs.

"You alrigh' Guv?" asked Ray.

"Yer, Raymundo!" barked Gene in return, taking his anger towards Alex out on Ray who was sat next to him.

Ray took a calming drag on his cigarette, he'd seen the Guv in 'his moods' too many times to count and knew exactly what had got him fired up.

"Don't listen to whatever Drake has said, Guv. She's just a posh mouthy tart."

Something within Gene boiled up, bubbling hotter and hotter. Gene called Alex that and it was fine; it was just their own way of talking to one another. But when those words came out of Ray's mouth they instantly sounded different to any other time he'd said them to Alex. Only he, the Guv, could talk about Alex like that, and when Ray spoke the words just sounded hurtful, and Gene directly took offence.

"Shut your mouth, Carling!" roared Gene standing up to full height against Ray's small sitting figure. "She may be a bird but she is your superior and has shown you up many times since her arrival 'ere. She is probably the only one of me team who can actually bloody solve anything!"

Gene picked up Alex's earring and left Luigi's.

-x-

The silence was not broken by speech as Alex had expected, but the noise of pouring liquid all around her and in close proximity to the chair she was tied to.

"Why you?" asked the voice, almost to themselves and not to Alex. "You're nothing special, nothing! So why you? Why did you have to show up in this world and ruin EVERYTHING I had planned here?"

Alex could smell the liquid as it was being poured so near to her – vodka. If this situation hadn't sobered her up a little Alex was sure she would have vomited all down herself at the smell of more alcohol, especially all around her. She still had to swallow a little bile down and take a few deep but quiet breaths. She was so confused, she had no idea why this person was doing this to her, she just couldn't understand. It felt like her brain would function normally and be able to solve this if it didn't have the constant hammering against her skull and the steady throbbing at the back of her head. She wondered how she was still conscious and knew that if her eyes were open everything would be spinning. She was for once glad she was tied to a chair – her legs would fail her if she moved.

"You don't see it." Whispered the cold voice in her ear; making the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. "That's what _kills_ me, is that you don't see. Sometimes you pretend that you do, act like you do, but then _nothing_!"

Alex thought her head might explode, almost wishing it would to end all the pain; she could barely hear what was being said to her over the noise in her head.

"You confuse him. _You're no good for him_!"

Then Alex heard it, something that scared her to the bones, blocking out the pain and noise and making her suddenly aware that the last conversation she had with Gene was an argument. One sound – the scratch and spark of a match. Alex could feel the heat from the tiny stick as her captor leaned in closer to her right ear.

"Let's see how close you and _your_ Guv really are." Said the cold voice threateningly, waving the flame nearer Alex's cheek. "Will he realise you're not downstairs in time?"

Alex felt her captor disappear from her side, yet her relief was short-lived as a second later extreme heat hit Alex's right side. The cold voice had dropped the match – sending Alex's flat up in flames.

**Please please review. I cannot wait to hear what you all think. Much love to all readers and reviewers! x**


	7. Her Cold Eyes Piercing His Heart

**Hi everyone. Sorry for the extreme delay with this chapter. It took me a while to work out what to do and to actually write it. I hope you really enjoy it, please let me know what you think I really love reading your reviews. I'm still in awe people are actually enjoying what I write. Update soon, as I go away in a week and want to get another chapter out before then. **

**Enjoy. x**

Chapter Seven:

He didn't know how long he was standing there for; the only thing that gave away any sense of time was the increasing pile of cigarette butts that had collected at his feet. He stood below pavement level down the steps at the entrance to Luigi's, his shoe squashing yet another fag butt to stamp out the remains of the lit tobacco. He leant his head back against the wall he was leaning on; he didn't know what to do and he hated himself for it. He was the Guv; the Manc Lion; the Gene Genie; the Sheriff: always in control, always knew what to do, and was always five steps in front of the bastard scum that crawled around the city. Yet when it came to the woman upstairs, who was probably half-way through assaulting a bottle of wine by now, he was lost. He felt like a total nancy poofter and he hated it. Sometimes he hated Alex for doing this to him, but then she'd walk into the room and all was forgotten and back to normal.

Should he go upstairs? He couldn't predict what would happen if he did, which was the reason for his confusion. He could never foresee what that bloody woman would do next; something he hated yet adored about her.

He picked Alex's earring out of his pocket and stared at it, hoping it would give him an answer.

-x-

He was standing at the bottom of the stairs that ascended up to Alex's flat; the distance seemed unusually long in his confused state. With her earring still gripped tightly in between his manly fingers he began to climb the flight of steps that lay before him.

Before he was ready he was at the top of the stairs and outside her front door – he knocked immediately, fearing his courage would abruptly disappear if he didn't. When there was no answer he knocked again, louder this time, and shouted her nickname loudly. He heard stumbling coming from inside the flat, followed by a few swear words and the door unlocking before it swung open into the flat. Alex stood holding the door, although he thought the door was doing more of the holding judging by the glazed look in her eyes from too much wine. Her eyes had anger in them and Gene immediately knew she was still pissed off from their earlier argument. He had hoped she wouldn't be like this, that she had taken enough time to cool down.

"Whaddya want?" she slurred through gritted teeth, her cold eyes piercing his heart.

Obviously, he was wrong.

He tried to sound as normal as possible when he replied; he didn't want to let her know the effect she had on him. However in his attempt to cover up his nerves he just sounded emotionless.

"Just to give ya this. Found it downstairs," he grumbled, unable to change how his voice sounded; he felt like someone else was talking. He was leaning on the doorframe as he constantly did when standing there. He held out his palm, showing Alex the earring that rested there.

She scoffed and snatched the earring from him and tucked it into the back pocket of the jeans she was wearing. She looked back at Gene, her cold gaze still shocking him. "If this is some lame attempt to come up here and apologise –"

"Apologise?" interrupted Gene with a louder barking tone to his voice, any sadness he felt for the situation immediately replaced by anger and a defensiveness that he couldn't control. "What the bleedin' heck for? You're the one who had a hormone explosion in my office and began screamin' the station down! If anything, _you_ should be apologising for taking ya monthly moods out on _ME!_"

Alex screamed in frustration, letting go of the door and subsequently stumbling before regaining her balance.

"Why is it when I challenge you or contradict you in any way, you blame my 'hormones'" Alex wiggled her fingers in the air "And the fact I am a woman! Why can't it enter your _thick, archaic _skull that I AM RIGHT?"

"And why can't ya get it in ya posh, privately-educated brain that you could be WRONG?" barked Gene so forcefully his face was a dark shade of red.

"Oh piss off!"

Alex slammed the door in Gene's face.

-x-

He inhaled the smoke, letting it fill up his lungs. He held onto it for longer than usual and slowly breathed out the tobacco smoke, watching it disappear into the night air. He smoked to calm himself down as he replayed that possible scenario over in his head, adding one more filter to the pile of cigarette butts that was building outside Luigi's. It was definitely a plausible scenario; with her shouting at him...she did that a lot lately. He sighed. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to go upstairs, she was a woman of course she needed more than a few hours to calm down, Ex-Mrs Hunt had taught him that.

But then why couldn't he move his feet? Why didn't he want to leave the cold hard concrete that meant he was downstairs from Alex's flat? And more importantly, why the bleedin' heck had she gotten to him so badly? He'd known many female plonks in the past, but he never felt this protective, or ever cared this much before. Somehow his brain wouldn't let him make the connection to what this really meant, and yet again his thoughts drifted to the woman upstairs, the woman who owned the earring he still held in his hand.

-x-

He knocked on the door, smoke surrounding his silhouette and a fag was balanced perfectly between his pouted lips. He waited for an answer and when it didn't come he shouted her nickname and knocked louder. Just when he was finishing the last of the tobacco left in his cigarette, he heard the door unlock; he stamped out the fag and looked up to see Alex being held up by the door to her flat, supporting herself while it swung on its hinges.

"Whaddya want?" she slurred, obviously drunk and Gene could see a faint mark on her perfect lips from red wine. She sensed his stare, she glared at him and pouted her lips, yet it wasn't hurtful, almost like she was trying to suppress a smile.

Leaning against the doorframe, which was his usual stance, Gene held out his palm towards her which revealed an earring. "Just to give ya this. Found it downstairs," he muttered.

Alex smiled instantly in relief. "Oh I thought I'd lost that!" she said while taking it from Gene's hand, touching a bit too much of his fingers than was necessary. She turned on her heel and went back into her flat to return the earring to her bedroom with the rest of her jewellery, leaving Gene standing at her open front door. He entered gingerly (not that Gene Hunt ever acted 'gingerly'), shutting the door behind him. He saw an empty bottle of red wine on the unit and a small glass of what he assumed to be whiskey on the kitchen table; he didn't know what to do so remained by the door next to the kitchen. He was still standing there lost when Alex returned. She gazed at him like she was trying to work him out, understand what mood he was in. He thought he'd help her out as it was obviously awkward after their argument earlier.

"Ya do know this is me apologising," Gene grumbled then looked at his feet. She didn't reply, she just smiled but he didn't see.

"Did ya hear me, Bolly?" he asked louder than his previous sentence and looked up at her. Her eyes were glazed over and she continued her smile.

"Yeah, sorry. It's just, you, apologising," she giggled slightly, "Took me by surprise."

"Doesn't mean I'm not right eh, Bols?" He had a cheeky grin upon his face and took a step towards her. "I'm just sorry we argued," he added seriously.

There was a silence while they looked into each other's eyes, standing still in their drunken states, transfixed by the eyes of one another.

"I did enjoy watchin' ya get your knickers in a twist though." That cheeky grin was back on his face.

"Why, DCI Hunt, are you so obsessed with my knickers?" Alex smirked while taking a step towards him. He could nearly feel her body heat against him, the faint blow of her breath brushing his skin and leaving it tingling. His blood pumped hard around his body, faster and faster at their sudden closeness. He saw the smile that teased on her lips as she bit loosely onto her bottom lip to hold it back.

"I'm just intrigued to what ya cover that privately educated arse of yours with," he grumbled deeply. Her eyes continued to stare into his. She breathed out half a laugh as her lips bounced away from the grip of her teeth. "In. Your. Dreams," she whispered. "Hunt."

He felt a wide smile spread across his lips, stopping him from his usual pout. Her eyes never left his except to quickly glance down at his lips. She licked her lips, subconsciously teasing him and leaned in a millimetre closer. "I certainly hope so, Bolly," he whispered.

Suddenly the distance between them was gone as she placed her lips against his. She was soft and gentle, yet as soon as his mouth opened a little, her tongue immediately entered and began wildly exploring. Their tongues collided, each fighting for dominance, their lips opening wider and wider. Her hands were in his hair and up and down his back, beneath his coat. His hands pulled her waist in tightly so her body was against him, her breasts against his chest. His right hand travelled south to grab her backside and gave it an encouraging squeeze, and with this movement she stood on her tip-toes and pressed up hard against his body, their mouths still moving in harmony. It felt like this moment could last forever; Gene and Bolly -Hunt and Drake. He wanted it to last forever.

-x-

He ran his fingers through his hair as he took a long shaky breath and leaned back against the wall. He was glad of the thick coat he was wearing as it covered the large bulge that had formed in his trousers from the scenario that had played out in his head.

He tried to get a grip on reality, told himself that it would never happen and was a stupid idea, that Alex was his DI and a posh bird at that – not someone for him. But he couldn't shake the feeling that he should go up. Could he handle a door slamming in his face on the smallest possibility that Alex felt the same way? But what if she did? They were definitely more than colleagues but what exactly was between them? Yes he couldn't ignore that voice in his head, or the feeling that he was meant to go up those stairs tonight, that his life would change if he did.

-x-

Her lungs were already filling up with smoke and Alex could feel the heat on her right side. She knew she had to head in the opposite direction but she couldn't see a thing. She tried to get the chair to move but she was stuck. Leaning forward on her tip-toes she tried to lift the chair just enough off the floor so she could wiggle her feet and move away from the flames. She leaned too far and felt herself falling just in time to turn her head so her nose wasn't broken when her head impacted against the floor. Her skull was throbbing and pounding and her lungs were tightening as the smoke burnt her insides.

Even though it caused her an immense amount of pain, she rubbed her bleeding head against the floor to try and move the scarf from her eyes. She coughed, violently, as her body struggled to breathe and give her energy for escaping. The side of her face was bleeding and spreading over the plastic lino flooring, but she felt the scarf begin to shift downward towards her nose. She tried desperately not to cough again as it hurt too much, but she wasn't breathing. Tears were escaping past her eyelashes and she didn't know what they were from; the smoke, the pain or tears of desperation. She managed to move the scarf from her left eye that was nearest the floor and she opened her eyelid. She couldn't see a way out of this mess, all she could see was her 1980's life going up in flames and any chance of seeing Molly disappearing with every second.

She coughed again, followed by a cry from the stabbing in her lungs. She didn't know whether it was the smoke or the lack of oxygen but her limited vision was blurring around her. There was no point in moving the scarf as her eyes couldn't see any more. Her body was in so much pain she just wanted it all to stop. How could this world cause so much pain? This world wasn't even real.

This can't be how it ends...

This can't be how it ends...

She repeated it to herself, her breathing dramatically weakening and her left eye closed slowly.

Molly...

Molly...

Molly...

Gene...


	8. He Knew He Had To Wait For Help

**Sorry for the delay in this chapter, was moving back to uni and was busy busy busy. I hope you like it, I'm quite proud. Although I am a bit stuck on where to go now, I welcome any suggestions. Please read and review! Thanks again to XTimeGirlX for Beta'ing and thanks to every one of you who take the time to read my little story! **

**Chapter Eight:**

Molly was sat at a table, her light brown hair framing her face, her unique birthmark clearly visible and her favourite light pink top covering her shoulders. She had a faint smile that was pulling on her lips as she gazed into the distance, a birthday cake sat in front of her on the table with candles already lit and waiting to be blown out. She attempted to extinguish the flames, failing every time as the flames refused to disappear. With every attempt the flames on the candle increased in size, taunting Molly's failure. The flames got bigger and bigger and they were larger than her head now, dancing and smoking in level with her eyes, almost laughing. The smoke from the candles was obscuring the sight of Molly – she was disappearing behind the flames, her smile still etched on her lips, until only her silhouette was visible.

And then it was gone.

-x-

He climbed step after step wondering which scenario would play out once he reached the top. He knew which one he'd prefer but whether those events would happen when he knocked on the door, and whether Alex even felt the same way was a different matter entirely. His nose twitched at the smell of smoke but he dismissed it – after all the cigarettes he had just smoked it was no wonder his senses were fucked.

It wasn't until he got to the top of the stairs and was standing outside Alex's flat door that he realised the smell was not his imagination. He looked down at the floor and saw smoke seeping out the gap below the door like dry-ice pouring over a stage.

"Bolly!" he roared. Fear taking hold of every cell in his body as he hammered his fist hard against the door.

"BOLLY!" he yelled again.

His mind seemed to jump into overdrive: was Alex in there? Was she ok? What was going on in there and for how long? What if she needed him but he was too busy fantasising to help her.

No. He couldn't think like that. All he could think about was breaking this bastard door down and finding Alex. He took a step back, more and more smoke was seeping into the corridor, and he ran towards the door shoulder first.

BANG.

No luck.

But he almost certainly cracked something. "Shit." He rubbed his aching shoulder and stood back again from the door. Using his foot this time he began kicking the door in.

Eventually it gave way – the wood around the lock splintering to allow the rest of the door to swing open freely while the locked remained in place.

Striding into the flat he couldn't see a thing, only the light coming from the flames in the living room, slightly illuminating his surroundings. He coughed, struggling to breathe as he walked through wave after wave of smoke. He had to find Alex, whether she was here or not, he had to check – he had to know. Putting his arm over his mouth and nose to try and soften the pain of breathing in smoke he walked through the kitchen. As he delved further into Alex's flat he thought he saw something on the floor – a chair. He got nearer and the silhouette became clearer – it was Alex.

He dropped his arms, any thoughts of his own pain were gone, and ran over to her – falling to his knees at her side.

'What have you got yourself into this time?' he thought while trying desperately not to dwell on the blood that was all over the floor, her blood, that was soaking his trousers at the knee. He forced his arms beneath her unconscious form to lift her up and get her out of this burning flat before it collapsed, but the damn chair was tied to her and he couldn't get her to safety dragging that behind as well.

He coughed, clutching his chest as the stabbing pain of breathing was beginning to become too much to bear. They were running out of time and no-one else knew they were up here, knew they were missing and that something was wrong. He struggled with the knots around her legs, his fingers fumbling with slight panic and his speed held up by lack of light. After undoing a couple of knots he paused, his vision began to blur and his chest was in so much pain, but Alex was still stuck.

Suddenly the flaming curtains fell to the ground and rolled towards them around the curtain pole, the flames darting round and round like some pathetic Catherine wheel. The light fell from the ceiling smashing loudly and he could hear the flat creak with the strain of a burning building. Gene rolled Alex over onto her back and forced his hands under her arms, and although his shoulder was aching and chest was burning he dragged her lifeless body with the chair out of the flat.

-x-

Gene didn't really know what was happening – it was better that way. There was a job that needed to be done and if he thought about it seriously he wouldn't be any use to anyone, especially Alex. He wasn't aware of what he did during the next few minutes after pulling Alex out of her burning flat. He vaguely recalled waking Luigi and getting him to call the fire brigade, and also borrowing a knife. He remembered cutting Alex free from the chair at the top of the stairs next to her broken door and then carrying her outside to safety.

But now it was time to wait and there was no hiding the fact that it was Alex that he held in his arms whispering words of encouragement to, and it was painful. He kept checking her breathing every minute or so, it was weak and her pulse was slow. He knew it was bad, but he was no doctor and even though it killed him to watch her struggling for life he knew he had to wait for help.

Luigi was flittering about, trying to move some of his treasured possessions in case the fire spread, muttering in Italian and just generally being annoying. But to Gene it was just background noise; Alex's heartbeat was all he focused on.

Then he heard it – sirens. Flashing lights were approaching from around the corner, his heart leapt, he couldn't stand the waiting any longer and now help was here; Alex was going to be ok. As the vehicle turned onto the street he saw the lights belonged to the fire brigade, the ambulance had yet to arrive.

The men busied themselves as they assessed the situation in front of them. They tried to talk to Gene to find out what happened but he didn't respond, and thankfully Luigi interrupted and answered any questions they had. Gene looked down at Alex's face, his DI motionless in his arms, and through the blood and the burns she still looked beautiful, she looked peaceful. Almost too peaceful. His heart skipped a beat when he realised he hadn't checked on her pulse in a while – the arrival of the Fire Brigade had distracted him. He couldn't feel her breath on the back of his hand anymore, he leant into her chest – he couldn't hear her heart beating.

"Don't you dare, Alex," Gene grumbled as he laid her down on his coat covering the pavement. He ripped open her blouse, the top three buttons popping off and bouncing over the street, revealing her chest. He began compressions to restart her heart, her body shaking with each one. He brushed a lock of hair away from her face as he blew air into her lungs. Carefully, he then listened to her mouth – nothing. She still wasn't breathing. He repeated CPR, his heart aching every time he stopped to see if she had started breathing again.

-x-

Every second felt like an hour yet time was simply passing too fast for Gene. This couldn't be happening, Alex would never leave, why did she always have to get herself into such a mess? Why did she do this?

Gene got angrier and angrier at Alex as he struggled hopelessly to restart her heart. He paused, listening yet again to her breathing, feeling like he'd been doing this forever, he wished she would just wake up and shout at him for ripping her blouse. He was about to start compressions again but he stopped, his heart leaping once more: could he feel a pulse?

No, he checked again and realised it was his own pulse running fast through his fingertips. His stomach plummeted at this reality: Alex was gone. He couldn't save her. Before tears could well up in his eyes or before any emotion could take hold many things happened at once: sirens could be heard approaching, Alex's flat exploded causing glass to shatter and cover the road below, and Alex started coughing.

**If you like it, you know what to do! ;)**


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